Month: April 2010

Have an art project in mind? Like NYC’s Governors Island? Or, are you located in the Boston/Cambridge area?
FIGMENT is accepting art proposals – click here for more info.
“Submissions are now open for the FIGMENT 2010 events in New York City (6/11-13) and Boston (6/5)! All submissions must be received by May 1 to be considered.”

But what if you want an easy-to-read overview of sociological classics, as well as recent research? Jay Gabler’s Sociology for Dummies (Wiley, 2010) is a good place to start.*

In addition, the quarterly magazine Contexts, published by the American Sociological Association, features short articles on a variety of contemporary topics (immigration, consumption, aging, gender roles, etc.). Written for a general audience, it’s a compelling introduction to recent research and the sociological imagination.

See this website, which has reports on data collected on arts activities between 1998 and 2000.

For instance,
“How the public participates in and consumes the arts is expanding. The arts participation measure is on the increase. Personal arts creation by the public is growing steadily (making art, playing music). Attendance at mainstream nonprofit arts organizations, however, is in decline.”

To start things off, at the CGAP blog, I’ve blogged about online videos available from a recent conference that brought together leading social science scholars who each briefly presented on which hard problem social science research should pursue. Of particular interest to Burners is Ann Swidler’s call for deeper insight into “how societies both create and restore institutions,” including the nation, government, marriage, university, etc. Burners, consider how your activities with Burning Man have impacted your skills and experiences (both positive and negative) with organization. Then think about how these experiences have, in turn, affected your involvement in the workplace, other community-based organizations or voluntary associations, etc.

Those of you who are interested in the arts or culture might like this talk by a seminal scholar in the sociology of culture this Fri. at the Graduate Center at 365 Fifth Ave. in NYC:

“Prof. Ann Swidler of University of California, Berkeley, and visiting scholar, Russell Sage, is the speaker of our colloquium on Friday, April 16 at 3 pm EST in the sociology lounge (6th floor) at the Graduate Center . Prof. Swidler will be speaking on “Access to pleasure: Aesthetics, social inequality, and the structure of culture production”. The talk argues that the Bourdieuian focus on “cultural capital” and culture as a basis for asserting “distinction” misses what is most fundamental to cultural practices: the pleasure of aesthetic experience. Then it analyzes how structured social inequalities affect the likelihood that different groups will have more or less access to pleasurable, exciting, or fulfilling cultural experiences.

The next “Author Meets Critics” session about my book will be Sun., April 11, 2010, 10:15-11:45am at the Pacific Sociological Association annual meeting in Marriott Oakland City Center, Oakland, CA. The room location is 201. Critics are Michael McQuarrie (UCDavis) and Jeff Sallaz (UArizona).

Most people recognize that Manhattan is an island surrounded by water. However, fewer notice that the city is built on top of many springs, requiring constant pumping to keep the subways and tunnels dry. During a walk in a park, one might notice trickles of water that serve as impromptu birdbaths. Heavy snowstorms or torrential rains, such as the recent storms, push sewage systems to their limits, requiring heavy duty design, engineering, and construction work. Check out upcoming talks about design ideas for NYC infrastructure here.*